Granulating machine



Aug. 31, 1948.

A. T. GARDNER GRANULATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1947 AiuuivT GaYtlm attorney Patented Aug. 31, 1948 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRANULATING MACHINE Arthur T. Gardner, Kansas City, Mo. Application September 6, 1947, Serial No. 772,544

1 Claim. (01. 107-7) This invention relates to granulating machines used more particularly in the preparation of pills, tablets, or the like, in the pharmaceutical industry, and the chief object of the invention is to produce a machine of this character which will not overheat or clog up, which will operate efiiciently with wet or dry materials without permitting the formation of strings or ropes, which frequently occurs when a wet plastic mass is being worked by machines of this nature now on the market.

Another object of the invention is to produce a machine of the character described which subjects the ingredients to the wedge like action of an oscillating or reciprocating pressure block which is moved back and forth over the screen, the pressure of the block on the screen being adjusted as desired.

A further object of the invention is to insure that the entire mass of material is moved over the screen, and that after each pass of the pressure block the material remaining on the screen hopper is leveled out or equalized for the next pass of the block in the reverse direction.

With the general objects named in view and others as will hereinafter appear, th invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and organization of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially broken away, to disclose parts otherwise hidden, of a machine embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is an end view of the machine with parts in section to more clearly disclose the construction.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures. the frame of the machine may be constructed in any suitable manner, one construction comprising a pair of inverted U-shaped supports I. Extendin in horizontal alinement between the frame members and carried thereby, are a pair of supporting L-shaped straps 2 which may removably receive a screen 3 having hopper sides 4 to receive the material to be granulated, the screen, by preference, bein held in any suitable manner as by gravity operated catches 5 slidingly carried by the legs of the frame I or the screen may be otherwise secured. Below the screen 3, the frame I may carry a pair of parallel L-shaped straps B to removably support a tray 1 adapted to receive the granulated material as it 2 is forced through the screen 3 as will hereinafter appear.

Spaced above the screen and secured to the frame are a pair of cross pieces 8 which carry a pair of horizontal space guide rails or tracks 9 on which a carriage ll] of generally rectangular shape is adapted to reciprocate, said carriage comprising a generally inverted U-shaped frame, the side legs thereof being spanned by two pairs of vertically alined axles II. The ends of the axles project through the side legs of the carriage It, and journaled on said ends are two pairs of guide rollers or wheels I2, which respectively ride on the upper and lower faces of the rails 9 and thus insure horizontal travel of the carriage I0.

' In order to reinforce the carriage against upward movement, a stabilizer rail I3 may be carried by the upper end of the frame I. The carriage I0 is formed with a pair of upwardly projecting flanges l 4 between which spaced stabilizer wheels [-5 are journaled for rolling engagement with the rail l3.

Centrally located within the carriage l0 and preferably in the same horizontal plane as the axis of the tracks 9, is a cross drive shaft I! to which a pair of connecting rods 18 are journaled. The opposite ends of the drive links [8 are journaled to crank arms l9. Keyed to the shaft 29 of the crank arms is a drive pinion 2 I. The drive pinion 2| or its shaft 20 may be turned by any suitable source of power to insure back and forth movement of the carriage I ll.

Secured to the carriage l0 in any suitable manner as by providing it with a cross piece 22, are a pair of vertically depending bolts 23 which are rockingly secured at their lower ends to the upper face of an arcuate pressure block 24. The rods or bolts 23 are provided with lock nuts 25 so that the pressure of the block 24 on the screen 3 may be adjusted to suit the material being granulated.

In order to insure rocking of the pressure block 24 so that it will always maintain a wedge relation to the plane of the screen 3, one end of a pair of links 26 are pivoted to the pressure block, the other ends of said rods or links bein pivoted to the connecting rods I 8 as shown most clearly in Figure 1. In order to spread the material over the screen 3 after each pass or reciprocation of the pressure block 24, a pair of drags or scrapers 21 extend outwardly from opposite ends of the pressure block and spread out the surplus material behind the block as will be readily understood.

From the above description and. drawing, it will carried bythe gf1 &Il l8,-- acarriage mounted itogreciprocate on said tracks, a screen below the carriage, an arcuate pressure block pivoted to the carriage and in contact with the screen, a driven crank, a connecting rod between the crank andys carriage to reciprocate the latter, and a link connecting the connecting rod and pressure-block to oscillate the pressure block on its carriage pivot as said block travels over the screen.

ARTHUR T. GARDNER" REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 784,584 Myers Mar. 14, 1905 1,611,794 Vaughan Dec. 21, 1926 1; 941 827" Angelis 1 Jan. 2, 1934 2,305,251 Haise' Dec. 15, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany Apr. 29, 1913 

